British Engines Leap Into Wellness challenge

British Engines Case Study: 77.5 Million Steps in "Leap Into Wellness"

British Engines, founded in 1922 in the North East of England, has run employee wellness challenges for several years. In 2024 the group moved to YuMuuv for its summer challenge, "Leap Into Wellness" – and colleagues around the world logged 77.5 million steps in three months. Here is how they did it.

Table of Contents

At a Glance

  • Company: British Engines, a group of eight engineering and manufacturing companies operating globally
  • Participants: 130+ employees worldwide, including colleagues in India and Asia
  • Challenge: "Leap Into Wellness", June–August 2024
  • Results: 77.5 million steps, 265,000 minutes of exercise and 17 million calories

The Starting Point

British Engines had already run successful challenges, including a "Race to the Moon" where employees logged exercise hours equal to the time it takes to travel to the moon and back. But feedback showed people wanted more choice: challenges that suited different fitness preferences and levels, from casual participants to those who wanted a real test.

YuMuuv could run several challenge types at the same time, giving every employee a tailored experience.

Designing "Leap Into Wellness"

The challenge offered three categories, each with a standard and an "extreme" version:

  1. Cycling challenge
  2. Minutes of exercise challenge
  3. Steps challenge

It ran for three months, from June to August, to make the most of the summer weather.

Keeping Engagement High

  • Landmark photo competitions: employees shared photos taken at notable landmarks during their workouts.
  • Video submissions: participants sent 30-second workout clips, shared on British Engines' TikTok.
  • Prizes: rewards such as an Apple Watch added extra motivation.
  • In-app chat and leaderboards: colleagues shared updates, photos and encouragement across countries.

Results

  • 77.5 million steps logged
  • 17 million calories burned
  • 265,000 minutes of exercise

1. Top performers

  • Steps: Nagaraju, Stores Officer at Michell Bearings India – 2,218,360 steps
  • Exercise: Andrew, Area Sales Manager at Michell Bearings – 16,464 minutes of gym time
  • Cycling: Paul, Occupational Health Technician at British Engines – 1,600 miles

2. What employees said

  • 74% said they wouldn’t have been as active without the challenge.
  • 82% reported improved wellness.
  • 69% spoke to another colleague about the challenge.

A Growing Tradition

British Engines plans to keep wellness challenges in its annual calendar. As Sophie Dodd, Marketing Assistant at British Engines, shared, “YuMuuv’s platform allowed us to create a truly engaging and inclusive experience where our employees had the flexibility to choose what worked for them, a really beneficial feature.”

Key Takeaways

  1. Offer choice. Several categories with standard and extreme levels let everyone find the right challenge – see YuMuuv challenge types explained.
  2. Run it over summer to make the most of good weather – with ideas from our summer step challenge guide.
  3. Add creative side competitions like photos and videos.
  4. Measure the impact with a short survey at the end.

Looking for a cycling option? See the cycling challenge app. More stories: case studies. Book a demo to design your own multi-category challenge.